Baltimore reacts to latest Freddie Gray ruling

World Today

Protesters gather outside a courthouse after Officer Caesar Goodson, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, was acquitted of all charges in his trial in Baltimore, Thursday, June 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Protesters gathered outside the courthouse in Baltimore Thursday after a judge found a police driver not guilty of all charges in the death of Freddie Gray, a black man who died of a broken neck in the back of a police transport vehicle. Gray’s death in 2015 set off some of the worst protests the city has ever seen.

The judge was unequivocal as he explained why he found a police driver not guilty of all charges in the death of Gray: Prosecutors showed no evidence of a crime.

The acquittal of Officer Caesar Goodson, who was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in the death of Gray is the most significant blow yet to the efforts to hold police accountable after protests and rioting in the troubled city.

Officer Caesar Goodson, left, one of six Baltimore city police officers charged in connection to the death of Freddie Gray, arrives at a courthouse before receiving a verdict in his trial in Baltimore, Thursday, June 23, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Gray suffered a catastrophic spinal injury when officers bound his hands and feet but left him otherwise unrestrained inside the metal compartment of the vehicle.

It was the third trial without a conviction in the sweeping case against six officers the state attorney announced in the wake of protests and rioting in Baltimore’s inner city.

The failure raises the prospect of whether any convictions can be obtained, and if State’s Attorney Marilyn Mosby should simply give up trying the case in criminal court.

Towanda Jones, whose brother Tyrone West also died in police custody, tried to articulate her feelings for the future.

“All I have left is hope. It’s not in our judicial system because at the end of the day it fails us over and over,” said Jones. “But I’m hoping that change comes somewhere within our community, as that we establish something to basically kind of dismantle this corrupt system and have laws in place that civilians can be safe.”

Gray’s death made his name a rallying cry for the growing Black Lives Matter movement and sparked more outrage nationwide over how police and the criminal justice system treat black people.

But the case hasn’t fit quite so neatly into the American narrative of white authorities imposing justice unfairly on black people. In this case, the defendant, trial judge, state attorney and mayor are African-American. Police chief at the time of Gray’s death was also African-American.

After the verdict, Black Lives Matter activist and Baltimore native DeRay Mckesson aimed his criticism at the entire system.

“Today is a reminder that there is a set of laws, policies and police union contracts across the country that will protect any form of police behavior,” Mckesson said.

Goodson was the only one of the six officers charged in Gray’s death to be accused of murder. He’s the second to be found not guilty, and another officer’s case ended in a mistrial.

Baltimore Judge Barry Williams said the state also failed to prove manslaughter, assault, reckless endangerment and misconduct in office.

“There has been no evidence that this defendant intended for a crime to happen,” Williams said. “The state had a duty to show the defendant corruptly failed in his duty, not just made a mistake.”

Prosecutors said Goodson was criminally negligent because he didn’t buckle Gray into a seat belt to keep him from slamming into the walls of the van’s metal compartment after officers bound his hands and feet.

The state also said Goodson exhibited a disregard for Gray’s life when he chose not to call a medic after Gray repeatedly indicated that he wanted to go to a hospital.

But Goodson wouldn’t talk to investigators or take the stand at trial, and there were no witnesses or cameras to show what happened inside his van, leaving the state with slim evidence of intent to harm.

“The state failed to prove the defendant knew or should have known that Mr. Gray needed medical care,” the judge said.

The judge said Goodson wouldn’t have been able to determine whether Gray was injured between the second and fifth stops on the 45-minute trip, because only after the van finally arrived at the Western District station house did officers observe Gray with blood and saliva on his face and evidence that he’d become incontinent, Williams said.

“Unlike in a shooting or a stabbing, or a car accident, this injury manifests itself internally,” Williams said, citing conflicting testimony from medical experts. “If the doctors weren’t clear, how would a person without medical training know?”

The judge also dismissed the “rough ride” theory, which he called the centerpiece of the state’s case. Proving it required evidence of actions and intent, and the state provided neither, he said.

“Seemingly, the state wants this court to assume because Mr. Gray was injured, that the defendant gave him a rough ride,” Williams said. “There is insufficient evidence to prove the defendant gave Mr. Gray a rough ride.”

Gray was arrested April 12, 2015, after running from an officer on bike patrol outside a public housing project. A neighbor’s video showed him handcuffed behind his back and hoisted into Goodson’s van, which made six stops on his 45-minute trip to the nearby station house.

The violence following Gray’s death a week later forced Maryland to bring in the National Guard. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake fired the police commissioner and then abandoned her reelection campaign. The Justice Department is formally investigating allegations of widespread police abuse.

The mayor noted that Goodson still faces an administrative review by the police department, and her likely successor, State Sen. Catherine Pugh, pleaded for patience.

“Although people may disagree with the verdict, it is important to respect each other and to respect our neighborhoods and our communities,” Pugh said.

Mosby was in court to hear the verdict, and appeared crestfallen as she hurried out of the courthouse, climbing into a black SUV that sped down the street, away from the crowd.

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